Trans-Alaska Pipeline

E. D. Waters and co-workers, "The AppHcation of Heat Pipes for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline," Proceedings of the 10th Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference Newark, Del., 1975. 

At the beginning of 1992, the largest Hquids pipelines in the United States, based on pipeline length, were Amoco Pipeline Co., 19,096 km Mobil Pipe Line Co., 15,026 km Exxon Pipeline Co., 14,983 km and Conoco Pipe Line Co., 12,980 km. Distances do not include 1316 km of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline with multiple ownership. In both 1991 and 1992, the product pipeline company with the most product deHveries was Colonial Pipeline with 104,990,000 m, more than double the amount deHvered by Santa Ee Pacific Pipelines, Inc. The top pipeline in terms of cmde oil deHveries was the Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., operator of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, with movement of 105,735,000 m (3). 

Some environmentalists anticipated a major accident like that of the Exxon Valdez. When plaiiiiing for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline took place during the energy crisis of the early 1970s, it was controversial because of the conflicts of balancing the needs of oil... 

Many people are familiar with the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). It is the most photographed pipeline as it, unlike most pipelines, has significant portions of the system above ground. Crude oil is produced in Alaska, moves south on TAPS and then moves by tank ship to the West Coast. From the tank ship, the crude again moves by pipeline to refineries along the west coast of the U.S. 

The 800-mile trans-Alaska pipeline pumps oil from the northern coast to the southern border of Alaska. 

The Western Operating Area of the Prodhoe Bay field in Alaska gathers oil and gas front 17 remote well pad facilities, covering an area of 108 square wiles. Three Gathering Centers, each capable of handling 300 HB/D of oil and 480 MMSCF/D of gas, preprocess the oil before shipment via the Trans-Alaska pipeline. 

There are two product lines leaving each GC -the oil transit line which supplies the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) Pump Station II, and the gas transit line which sends gas to the Central Compression Plant for reinjection to the reservoir gas cap. 

Whalen S. C. and Reeburgh W. S. (1990a) A methane flux transect along the trans-Alaska pipeline haul road. Tellus 42B, 237-245. 

The company was rescued, thanks to high investments outside of the Middle East. Since the early 1980s, British Petroleum has developed many more oil and gas fields in the North Sea. Among these have been, in the UK sector, Magnus, the Village gas fields at Miller and Bruce and, in Norwegian waters, Ula and Gyda. In Alaska, the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System enabled the Prudhoe Bay field to come on stream in 1977. In 1981, the Kuparuk field also started production, and towards the end of 1987, the world s first continuous commercial production was recorded from an offshore area in the Arctic when the Endicott field was commissioned. 

Burger, E. D., Perkins, T. K. Striegler, J. H. 1981. Studies of wax deposition in Trans Alaska Pipeline. Journal of Petroleum Technology, 33, 1076-1086. 

A retired electrician who had worked on the trans-Alaska pipeline recently committed suicide in an Arkansas jail after being arrested under the antiterrorism act for possessing castor beans. Two years before, a large quantity of ricin toxin and weapons, ammunition, and gold were found in his car by Canadian customs officials as he crossed the border from Alaska to Canada.1819... 

One of the most commercially desirable appHcations for OTMs is the spontaneous partial oxidation of natural gas into synthesis gas. This latter feedstock is of major importance for its subsequent conversion to methanol and to hydrogen. Additionally, synthesis gas can be converted, via Fischer-Tropsch chemistry, into liquid fuels (gas to liquids, GTL) particularly under circumstances where natural gas is located remotely from the place of consumption. Because the resulting hquid fuels possess an intrinsically higher energy density than natural gas, they would be less expensive to transport. One prime example is the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, which in the future could be used to transport synthetic liquid fuels derived from Alaska s vast reserves of natural gas in the Prudhoe Bay area to the Port of Valdez [36]. This is one of many remote natural gas locations around the world which could take advantage of OTM technology. 

A liquid pipeline has less stored energy than a gas pipeline, and a rupture does not cause an explosion. However, an explosion can occur on ignition of an explosive product. In the case of a hazardous liquid product pipeline, the environmental impact can be as serious as an explosion. The risk of an oil leak from the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System has continued to be the primary driver for the aggressive corrosion prevention and inspection program maintained by the operator. Of major concern is the risk of oil leakage into water streams and thereby contaminating water supplies. 

Klechka, E.W. 2001. Use of corrosion inhibitors on the Trans Alaska pipeline. Materials Performance 40 (Suppl. 1), pp. 7-9. 

ED Berger, WR Munk, HA Wahl. Flow increase in the trans-Alaska pipeline through use of a polymeric drag-reducing additive. J Petrol Technol (Feb) 377, 1982. 

Although most experimental work up to now has been carried out using water-based solutions, the succesful experiments in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System ultimately led to the first commercial application of drag reduction in a crude oil pipeline [22, 23]. The injection of a polymer additive... 

Burger, E.D., Munk, W.R., Wahl, H.A. Flow increase in the Trans Alaska Pipeline using a polymeric drag reducing additive. S.P.E. Paper 9419, 1980... 

Peabody, A. W. (1976). Special challenge Cathodic protection on trans-Alaska pipeline. Pipeline Gas J., December. 

Data and facts serving as basis for the analysis and recommendations were culled from literature or acquired from inquiries addressed to experts. Of particular significance was a supplementary cost-effectiveness analysis of three alternatives with respect to national self-sufficiency and security. Here the opening up of the outer continental shelf was contrasted with supply via the trans-Alaska pipeline system and imports. The team conducting the investigation arrived at the conclusion that intensified exploitation of the United States outer continental shelf is preferable to the... 

The most spectacular success of polymer drag reducers has been the use of oil-soluble polymers in the trans-Alaska pipeline (122). Flow through the pipeline has been greatly increased by appropriate polymer addition. 

Bower JP, Hood E, Hoferkamp LA (2008) Major solutes, metals, and alkylated aromatic compounds in high-latitude maritime snowpacks near the Trans-Alaska pipeline terminal, Valdez, Alaska. Environ Res Lett 3 045010... 

The efforts seem to be working. On July 10, 2004, USA Today reported Not one drop of crude oil spilled into Prince William Sound from oil tankers in 2003 - the first spill-free year since the ships started carrying crude from the trans-Alaska pipeline terminal in 1977. ... 

Orazem et al. (1993, 1997) and Kennel-ley et al. (1993) took up this subject from the theoretical as well as the practical point of view, considering the cathodic protection of pipelines covered with insulation, characterized by leakiness (holidays and discrete holidays). Mathematical models have been created for different placements of anodes and their distance from the pipeline. In several papers, results are presented of theoretical calculations of the current and potential distribution and their comparison with experimental results. The finite element technique was used to solve the Laplace equation for potentials under boundary conditions, which describe the state of the insulation and the metal surface. Carson and Orazem (1998) also investigated the polarization characteristics of a pipeline as a function of time based on the formation of calcium precipitates. The results of these investigations were utilized in the construction of cathodic protection for the Trans-Alaska pipeline. More information on the CP of insulated pipelines is given in Sec. 8.4.4, while... 

The drag reduction phenomenon has important practical applications. Pressure drops, and therefore pumping costs, can be reduced for a given flow rate or the capacity of a pumping system (e.g., the Trans-Alaska pipeline) can be increased by the addition of a... 

Another incident occurred on October 9, 2001, when an allegedly drunken hunter used a high-powered rifle to punch a hole in the Trans-Alaska pipeline causing a jet of oil to create a significant environmental impact. 

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